Improvement in gre-furnaces



G. W. BEAMER 8a E. AANDERSON. Ore-Furnace.

No. 219,763. Patented sept. 1.6.1879.

mi H

Flu.

FIG 5.

Witnesses,

UNITED GEORGE W. REAMER AND EDWARD' ANDERSON, OF FOREST HIDE, GAL.

IM PROVEMEN'F` IN f ORE- FUR-NACES.

i Specification forming part of Letters Patent No 219,763, datedlSeptember 16, 1879.; application filed May 7,' 1879.

ITo all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatwe, GEORGE W. BEAMER and EDWARD ANDERSON, of ForestHill,

countyof Placer, andState of California, have invented an Ore-Furnace;and we hereby` de# Glare the followiugto be a full, clear, and exact.description thereof, referencebeing had tothe.A

accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to an improvedfurnace for roasting anddesulphurizing ores, and.

it is more particularly intended for working the ores of mercury, thefumesof whichnare to be caught and conveyed to condensers.-y It4 isspecially constructed to roast tin-e ores,.wh.ich, in ordinary furnaces,areapt to clog or liable to `pack in such anlanner that the fire hasnotfree access to `all the particles.

It consists in constructing a ycentral chamber.

between vertical walls, on the outersidect' eachof which is alire-place, the draftsfrom the two fire-places passing in oppositedirec.-Y

. tions and meeting in a common flue, wherev each wall is arranged afire-place, which heatsy the ore in the space" between the walls. Thetwo fire-places are placed in opposite sides of the furnace 5 but theproducts of combustion finally enter a common chamber or ilue, ashereinafter described. The lire-place B has the usual doors andgrate-bars, and the heat, dame, and products of combustion are carriedthrough the liue C to the side opposite the grate, and then rise toanother iiue, leading them back again toward and over the grate. Aseries of alternate diaphragms, D, are arranged one above another, so asto form a continuous ue, the openings in the diaphragms being atalternate ends. In this waythe heat and flame are carried to the top,being in contact with the walls A during their passage, so as tothoroughly heat said walls and the ore between them. The samearrangement of llues is made foreach fireplace, the only differencebeing that one has one more diaphragm than the other, so that the heatis lally discharged from both into one chamber, E, on one side of thefurnace.

Leading from the chamberE and passing across the space I betweenthewalls A sa pipe, E, madein apeculianform. `This pipeF is openen itsunder side, Where. it ,crosses the furnace, and two flanges,l G, projectdownward necting with the. furnace-chamberl, in which the ore is:roasted. A series Vof openings, K, are formedin thewalls A,connectingwith each flue, for the purpose hereinafterfdescribed..

The operation of our furnaceis as follows: The ore is poured into thechambenI through the opening in the top until. said' chamber` is filledto the top and acrossV the pipefF.` rEhe ore then-rests: on the loorv H,butdoes not descend until moved with a rake v underneath.

When the -res are started .up the heat, flame, andproducts ofcombustionpass to. and fro in thefluesoutside the walls A. Acertainamount o-'lheat is also communicated to: the orethrough theopenings K insaid walls. These openings are made inclined downward .from theilues tothe chamber I, so that no ore will enter the tlues om the chamber.

As the ore gradually becomes heated and the mercury is volatilized thefumes rise through the ore and are caught in the pipe at the top of thechamber. The openings K, however, also furnish passages through whichthe fumes may rise from the ore into the iiues, and thence be directedinto the chamber, where the dues terminate, and thence into the pipewhich leads themto the condenser.

From the construction described'it will be seen that all the heat,flame, smoke, and volatile products are carried to the condenser-pipewhether they rise through the ore or enter th flues through theopenings. y

rIhe ore is fed in and withdrawn continuously. As the ore is dischargedatthe bottom, the openings for the discharge-how are made of just thesize of a car, and Whenfthe door is opened the ore may be withdrawn intothe car and carried away. 1

This really forms a double reverberatory furnace. By having the fires onopposite sides the heat is distributed evenly, and the chamber lperfectly heated. The ore is gradually heated from top to bottom, themore volatile products being first freed, and the ore left in propercondition for thorough roasting. Asit is heated gradually on itsdownward passage to the points of greatest heat, the operation ofroasting is thoroughly' performed.

Any desired amount of time may be given to the roasting, according tothe class of ore, this being determined by the rapidity of removal ofthe ore from below. No Scrapers or stirrers are needed, the verticalstratum of ore being operated on being so thin and small as to insurethorough roasting, and there being no projections or places on the wallsA on which the ore may lodge.

If desired, the draft may be shut oft on one side, and the fumesdrawnoli' through theopenings K from one side only. It is preferred,however, to draw the fumes from both sides of the body of the ore assoon as they are pro duced, and this we accomplish by means oi theopenings herein described. A current can be created in either directiondesired by regulating the draft.

It will be seen that all the heat is utilized ou the ore in the centralchamber. There are n0 downward currents for the draft, as it passesalternately back and forth from one side of the furnace to the otherbeside the walls A 1n this way iine ore, such as all quicksilver-minesproduce, is easily worked.

It is customary to make tierras or bricks of this class of ore, in orderto reduce it properly; but we ohviate the necessity of this by ourimproved construction. The ore is, at all points of its downwardpassage, in contact with the heated walls, and there are numerousopenings through which the fumes may escape to the condensers. At theouter end of the pipe F is an ordinary suction-blower, which draws oli'the fumes to the condenser.

This furnace is cheaply constructed and operated, and may be easilyexamined, if necessary. at any time. There are no iron parts in thestructure, except the condensing-pipe F, which is easily replaced whenworn out. This can, however, if desired, be made of cement or clay, andbe suitably supported in position without danger of breakage.Thisfuruace will also be useful for roasting sulphurets, which, afterbeing concentrated, are diicult to work in ordinary furnaces, since theyeasily .clog or pack, and are free from lumps, packing so closely as notto be easily handled or roasted.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an ore-roasting furnace, a central roastingchamber, I, incombination with two {ireplaces, B B, located in diagonal corners of thebase and communicating with two sets of fines, arranged on oppositesides of the roastingchamber, so that the drafts from the re-places risein oppositely-nmving currents along the sides of said chamber I,substantially as set forth.

2. The orc-chamber I, between the walls A, and having the pipe F, withits downward projecting flanges G, in combination with the dre-place B,dues C, with their perforations K, and common chamber E, whereby theheat, dame, products of combustion, and volatile products of the ore maybe caught bythe saine pipe and led to the condenser, substantially asherein described.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands. f

GEO. W. BEAMER. E. ANDERSON.

LM su

